Hello my friends,
It’s the height of Mardi Gras season which you feel very viscerally when you live in New Orleans right now. There’s music in the streets, beads in the trees, and maaaany a tourist-friend in town. I took a short break from some of the Mardi Gras hoopla to pop over to Austin, TX where I have been successful in eating my weight (or just about) in tacos, seeing some great music, and tooling around town. In a time when the world feels real crunchy and cruel around the edges, going to see music and feel the pulse of talented musicians playing and singing their hearts out has felt like joy and relief.
I hope you’re finding your own joy this weekend. I’ve compiled some of the internet like we do around here every Sunday. Happy day and easy reading:
• Here we are: The Age of Rudeness
• A beautiful piece from the Chicago Sun Times about a high school coach and the kids that need him: A Season Under the Gun
• You’re a completely different person at age 14 and age 77. I hope so. The foundations of our personalities are mutable… along with our fashion choices and our crankiness at our parents. Relief, or what?
• One of my favorite things about living in New Orleans is hearing the marching bands practice for Mardi Gras parades in the Fall, Making Mardi Gras: Music in the streets with St Augustine. This high school band marches ten miles for several nights over the Mardi Gras season, setting the groove and making our feet dance. Happy Mardi Gras! It’s here, it’s now, it’s wonderful and I hope you come experience it with us sometime!
• Inside Uber’s Aggressive, Unrestrained Workplace Culture. It’s just locker room talk, right? Maybe this is the product of such aggressive growth? Welp, looks like Toxic masculinity ruins the party again. Ruins the party or takes you to the party?
• The Internet is full of really gnarly news and also… jokes: Frank Gehry no longer allowed to make sandwiches for grandkids.
• Talk amongst yourselves, I’ll give you a topic: Why Is It So Hard For Women To Be Selfish?
• My little sister is literally the sweetest and her Seattle ice cream business is growing!
• Very honest and very important: But He Didn’t Hit Me. Maybe this hits close to home for you or someone you know. It has hit close to home at times in my heart and life.
• This is one of my very favorite vegetable recipes going into Spring: Pistachio Crusted Asparagus with Feta from the inspired kitchen of Small Measure.
• Traveling the entire length of the US-Mexico border in photographs: 10 Days Along the Border
• This is my power skirt at my power length.
• I got to see Amos Lee perform in Austin Texas tonight with the Melodic Caring Project, a beautiful organization that brings live music to children and families in sickness struggles. Love is loud. Check it!
You are lovely and I’m glad you’re here. Let’s enjoy this day!
xo Joy
Meagan
Your Sunday posts make my heart grow 10 sizes, Grinch style.
I’ve been reading your blog for years and have made several of your recipes – some of my favorites being French Onion Pasta, and your dad’s Sweet Potato Pie.
I always come close to commenting and gushing about our kindred souls, but chicken out. (weird) Today our mutual love of Amos Lee pushed me to pull the comment trigger.
We love you. We count on you. Keep being you!
joythebaker
Meagan! You’re a really sweet human. Thank you so much for being here. It really means everything to me
Shari giarraputo
I hope that you are doing well with all of the craziness at Madi Gras this year. Be safe
Laura
Best of luck to your sister. She does seem like the sweetest!
pinchofdelight
Happy Sunday!
I hope you have a fantastic week. x
Izzy |https://www.pinchofdelight.com
Rebeca
The “But He Didn’t Hit Me” post did hit close to home. Not personally, but a friend of mine has been in a relationship just like that for years. As I kept reading, I found so many points I could relate to her situation, and I know there’s so much I’m not even aware of.
It’s so important to talk about these things, and I’m glad there are brave women (and men) willing to talk about their experiences.
peppermintdolly
I love your sisters logo for her ice cream, the little drawing – it’s just so cute!
Rebecca
xx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
Sarahkate
I have just re-read the Age of Rudeness – thank you very much for posting. I have come to realize that rudeness is a sort of false assumption of power for the powerless and has taken root where there isn’t enough money for anyone much less everyone. Money equaling power – power to buy, power to work where and how you want, power to help yourself. When there is little or no money, the sense of control over your own life goes away usually permanently. The loss is filled by assuming a strong sense of victimization (not necessarily wrongly as most of us below the one percenters are being victimized in every sense of the word) which needs anger to sustain it. The anger spills over into rudeness – in verbalizing, in the written word, and even in body language.
We don’t need anyone else to destroy us – we are doing a fine job all by our individual selves.
At base, all wars whether individual or by populations are fought over resources. When individual resources for sustaining the self with a reasonable amount of dignity and hope for the future are lost, what is left is interpersonal war. Interpersonal war is a two-word definition for rudeness.
The Christian ethic is to turn the other cheek. I guess that makes me pretty much a heathen because my one resolution for the current year was to stop being a doormat and fight back against deliberately rude behavior on nearly every occasion it is delivered in my face – and in the area I live you might be surprised to learn that rude behavior is the norm and not the exception especially in retail establishments and mis-labeled “service” businesses. I have perfected the icy stare in response and sometimes a pithy, very icy (not hot – that can get you shot!) verbal response. Followed by turning my back and walking away.
dorothyntototoo@hotmail.com
I’ve never heard the term “gaslighting” but I lived it. Thank you for the link.
Barb
Just read ‘The Age of Rudeness’-Wow! Thanks for sharing that.I will be sharing it as well.
Whitney
Mmm Austin tacos! Have a shrimp taco Del Mar and frozen sangria for me at Chango’s!
Julia
I found the border photos to be interesting, mainly because they show such calm. I live on the border in West Texas, and it is so peaceful by the border. The border fence is already in place, and the bridges are so fluid. It’s a unique dynamic. No one here is afraid of Mexico or its relationship to the U.S. and crossing over is no big deal with proper documentation. I did see some graffiti a week ago at a park about…less than 1000 ft from the border I walk at once a week. Somebody had spray painted profanity regarding not needing a wall. It was painted over the next week, which makes me wish I had taken pictures!
jeblb
I live in Seattle. I love ice cream. I am VERY excited!!
dana828
Can I just say how envious I am of the fact that you have now seen Amos Lee live at least 3 times (by my count)?! Love love love ?? his music! We saw him in Minneapolis last fall and I cannot stop thinking about it and replaying my videos from the night. Leaning on the stage while he played “Windows are Rolled Down”. ????Cannot wait for the chance to see him again!
Rena
Thanks a lot for the links! I’m especially interested into the text about age :)
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
Edith M Prentiss
Uber! Do you realize they refuse to offer services to passengers who use wheelchairs and cannot transfer in to the backseat of a vehicle or whose chair doesn’t fold to be stowed?
Their refusal has resulted in many legal actions internationally, Their defense has been that they are not a transportation provider but a technology company.
Do you think it is right that wheelchair users are barred from a growing source of transportation. In NYC, it is estimated that there are between 40,000- 60,000 Uber vehicle which are driving the 13,000-14,000 TLC regulated yellow taxi out of business.
These are medallion owners who bought the right to street hails, some at cost to a million dollars only for NYC to change the rules and let Uber & others pick up passengers who guaranteed to the yellow cab.
In a recent court settlement the City agreed that 50% of yellow tax would become accessible by 2020.
At this point in the discussion, we’re usually asked why we can’t use special or other transportation services. The bottom line us we use transportation options the same as you do.
There are some who have adapted personal cars, some of us use buses & the subway, some use patatransit and some sit in the pouring rain as buses go by leaving us on the sidewalk!
Edith M Prentiss, Chair of the Taxis For All Campaign, a civil right and social justice for 20 years.
Whitney
Edith, thanks for the info about Uber refusing service to people with wheelchairs. I was already concerned about other practices of theirs, and this puts it over the top.
Karen
In Boston, and I suspect elsewhere, there’s also a problem with them refusing to take blind people because they don’t want to let the seeing eye dogs into the cars. Which is why they will never get my business.
francetaste
I have never used Uber, but I have driven my parents, both of them in wheelchairs. And I have taken them around NYC and other cities with wheelchairs, using taxis. The fact that Uber won’t accept wheelchairs is abhorrent.
Of course the other problem with Uber is that they are outsourcing risk. Much like other companies that operate as “platforms,” they reap commissions, but they have no skin in the game. All the ups and downs of business fall on the little guy who is their contractor/freelancer/driver. It is the logical extension of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.